STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK
PHOTO BY THIA KONIG
One need only look at the enthusiastic crowds showing up for the Sun Valley Music Festival concerts and various fundraisers around the valley to realize that people are ready to get out and party after a year of hunkering down at home due to the pandemic.
Field Daze is trying to tap into that hunger with four weekends of entertainment al fresco.
It’ll kick off Friday and Saturday with a show that spans the gamut from an L.A. comedian to pop covers spanning seven decades. And it will run through Aug. 27 and 28 when R.L. Rowsey and Friends presents a big finale full of Broadway tunes.
“We had a sneak preview of that last year. This year will be even bigger and better,” said Field Daze Co-founder Cathy Reinheimer, a film producer who helps teach performing arts students at Wood River High School.
Reinheimer co-founded Field Daze during the summer of 2020 with Lila Claghorn, whom she calls a “triple threat as a young actor producer and writer.”
Claghorn had moved to Ketchum from Los Angeles during the pandemic, and she and Reinheimer were lamenting a summer without entertainment when they had the idea to set up a stage on Reinheimer’s property across the highway from the landmark Reinheimer Ranch in Ketchum.
The weekly cabarets proved so successful they decided to offer it again this year. The field served as the stage for Idaho playwright Samuel D. Hunter’s “The Case for the Existence of God” in June. And last week it hosted the Caritas Chorale as about 30 singers led by R.L. Rowsey found their voice following a year without singing.
This weekend’s show is billed as “Cabaret, Comedy and Cocktails.” It will feature The Beverly Lovers—the romantic and somewhat silly husband-wife duo of Aly Wepplo and David Janeski, who will sing pop classics through the years. It also will feature Broadway singers Nick Sacks, Madison Hansmeyer and Lila Claghorn. And it will be emceed by Ally Weinhold, a comedian from Los Angeles.
“There’ll be a potpourri of zany, fun songs, dance numbers, stand-up comedy and improv—something for everyone,” said Reinheimer.
The show will run from 7 to 8:30 p.m. People are invited to come as early as 6 with blanket, chairs and picnic in hand. Warfield Distillery will also have signature cocktails, beer and wine and snacks, such as sandwiches, pizza and tacos, for sale.
Tickets are available at https://www.fielddazesunvalley.org
COMING UP:
Aug. 7—Field Daze plans to host a Children’s Fair from noon to 6 p.m. at a location to be announced. It will feature games, music and other activities.
“We just feel that kids of the community after what they went through last year deserve cotton candy, bouncy house and a water slide,” said Reinheimer.
Aug. 20-21—The Liberty Theatre Company, which features actors who formerly worked with Company of Fools, will present an evening of favorites from musicals they’ve done in the past. The location will be announced later.
Aug. 27-28—Musicmeister R.L. Rowsey will appear with 10 to 12 friends from here in the valley and afar in a festive evening of music that will include costuming.